Chapter Four

[P.O.V. Jared Woods]

After the arena games, I went straight to my bedroom and got ready for the ball. That's not all I did while I was getting ready. I had a couple of drinks of scotch. Ever since the arena, my beasts have been nonstop fighting. It's getting to the point I'm getting a splitting headache. I have also been getting this unsettling feeling in my stomach, not a bad one, though. Once I was ready, I headed down to the ballroom. The closer I got to the ballroom, the more unsettling the feeling I was feeling got. When I walked behind the curtain, there was my twin Riley peeking through the curtain. With a curiosity to see if I could see anyone, in particular, I joined him. We talked for few minutes right before the rest of our family showed up. It was great to see everybody, including Lenard; we don't get to see much of him.

After everybody greeted each other, everybody left the curtain except for my brother, father, and mother. We have to make our royal introductions. The royal announcer announces father and mother first to enter the room. Then Riley and I, after our introduction, our father starts the ball, and there where the fun begins.

After hours of dancing and talking with different low and high-class women, my beasts and I couldn't help but still feel unsettled. That was until this smell hit nostrils. It was intoxicating; it smelt like fresh sweet strawberries and jasmine. Stopping my dance with an alpha daughter, I excused myself and followed the intoxicating smell. Moving through a huge crowd of people, I ended up outside on a balcony. That's when I saw this gorgeous creature standing in front of me, only a few steps away. I could feel my wolf howl in delight and my dragon roaring with possessiveness.

She has long blonde hair with bouncy curls at the tips. Piercing hazel eyes with a hint of silver in them. She has perfect white skin and a shade of dark pink rose lips. She had the body of the goddess the way her white gown showed all her curves. I felt like I was in a daze, and because of the feeling, I couldn't control the words that rolled of my tongue.

"Mate," I said while saying that word she says it to. Stepping a little closer, I grab her hand, and I could feel little shocks run across my skin. As her skin touched mine and it was heavenly. Placing a small kiss on it looking back up, she was grinning widely and blushing deeply. Smiling back at her, I introduced myself, "I'm Higher Prince Jared."

"I'm Karen Davidson." She says. Hearing the words come out of her mouth was like an angel talking. But the daze I felt only lasted so long, and I had to return to the reality that was around me.

"Will you honor me by giving me a dance?" Holding my hand out to her.

"I would love to." She takes my hand, and we enter back into the ballroom. The moment her hand touched mine, all I could feel were pleasant sparks that made me crave her a little more.

Getting to the dance floor, holding her close to me, we began to dance. The dance didn't feel like a regular dance. It felt as if we were the only ones in the room. Our eyes were locked with each other, and our bodies moved as one. We danced our hearts out until the very end of the song. That when reality set back in again, everybody clap and stood around us. I didn't even realize that the others on the dancefloor had moved out of our way. Moving off the dancefloor and away from the attention, everybody went back to minding their own business.

"I can't believe that just happened. It was more than I could have imagined." Karen says with a tone of happiness. I didn't quite know what she meant by that, but I could tell she meant it in a good way.

"Well, that was quite the performance." A woman voice says. Looking at the right of me, my Mother and Father walked towards us.

"Mother and Father, this is my mate Karen Davidson." Introducing them to her.

"Your Majesties," Karen says while she bows to them.

"Please, no need. I only came to meet my son, mate." Mother says to her. Karen stands back up and smiles at her. "My, you are a beauty. Tell me, what celestial, kingdom, and breed are you from?"

"My Goddess is Mother Moon, and I am from the Heart of the Kingdom. As for my breed, I am a pure breed dragon shifter." That interesting to know about her. Her bloodline has never been tainted with other breeds. It hard nowadays to find a pure breed of anything. Now that all kingdoms have been united altogether.

"Really? It's sporadic to find pure breeds nowadays."

"Indeed, High Mother, my family is rigorous on the hand of keeping the Davidson bloodline pure." It's been a while since I heard someone call my mother that. Since my mother is the queen of all queens, she is now mother to all breeds from all the gods and goddesses.

"Interesting... I wonder what mother moon has up her sleeve to have pure blood mated to a hybrid prince... none of that matters now since you are now my son, mate. I assume you understand that I need to have a conversation with your father."

"Of course, he is just right over here," Karen says as she and my mother leave our little circle.

"I told you that you would meet your mate. Sometimes we have to be patient." My father says.

"Is this how you felt when you met mother?" Asking him.

"It's quite the rush, isn't it?"

"It really is... You never mention how you and Mother met. All you have told me is how you felt when you saw her for the first time. You said when I found my mate, you would tell me." My father sighs lightly then looks at me with a slight smile.

"My elder brother Vincent and I saved her. From five other men that were about to rape her." My father says, and as he said the words, I could see in his eyes the protectiveness he must have felt when it happened. It was hard to hear that my mother had experienced something like that. "Vincent told me that sometimes we meet our mates in the strangest ways. And not all of us can indeed meet our mates in great circumstances. Some of us get the strangest of ways that aren't so great. Don't tell your brother I will once he finds his mate." With that being said, Riley comes up to us with a puzzled look on his face.

"Did I miss something?" Riley asks curiously.

"Your brother found his mate," Father tells him.

"Really? Well, it's about damn time you only have been complaining not having one for a while now." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him.

"Where have you been?" Asking him.

"I meet my mistress in the forest for a late-night stroll," Riley responds.

"Tell me that you're safe about it? we really don't need her to be knocked up with your kid."

"I might be irresponsible, but I'm not that irresponsible. And now you have me curious what you do if I wasn't safe about it?" Before I could respond, Father did.

"If you did knock her up, you would take responsibility for actions. She would end up moving to the castle. Then you would marry her and give her your mating mark... And I know what your thinking, and yes, it would apply to Jared as well."

"Good to know," Riley says with a little sarcasm. "Well, if two will excuse me for a moment, I have something to attend to."

He leaves, Mother and Karen returned to us. Following them was an older gentleman and woman, including a young boy that looks of the age of ten, maybe thirteen. Karen introduces us to her father and mother, and her little brother. Visiting with them for a few minutes, talking about our arrangement with Karen. Moving into the castle into a separate room so that I can begin to escort her and get to know each other before our wedding day. After we talked about that, Karen and I left the ballroom and went for a walk in the gardens.

"Earlier this evening, you said something about living in this kingdom. I have never seen you in the streets or either at any of the Annual festivals. Did you recently move here?" Asking her.

"Yes, actually, we moved here about six months ago. We use to live in the human world. Humans were getting suspicious about how young we still looked. That and my father wanted me mated to mate soon as possible. I think it was his way of kicking me out of the house." She kind of giggles about it. "To be honest, I am surprised my father even letting me be mated to you. He's usually very strict about our bloodline purity."

"It's probably because of my position in the whole Kingdom." Telling her bluntly and honestly with a hint of joking.

"Probably." She jokes back.

We stopped in the middle of the garden and enjoyed the view of different flowers and twinkly lights. While looking around, I saw my brother with a woman. And it wasn't his usual mistress or noblewoman. Instead, she was the opposite of his kind she royalty.